Published at December 30, 2007
in Blabber.
I was reading through old live journal entries and found these quotes from spring semester last year….
Dr. Tracy: Do you think that Twelfth Night was breaking societal conventions or testing the boundaries.
Someone: I think Shakespeare was just testing the fence….
Dr. Tracy: Like the raptors on Jurassic Park. Whenever anyone says “testing the fence” that’s always what I think of. You know, they tested the fence, because they were smart. I love that movie.
Dr. Tracy: Shakespeare’s patron was Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southhampton…..
Richard: Okay, so who was his patron? Henry or Earl?
Dr. Tracy: There was no one named Earl. ….Henry was the Earl.
Someone: Marriage is supposed to even you out…
Dr. Tracy: Does marriage even you out? I don’t know; I’m not married. Is anyone married here?
Brian: I am.
Dr. Tracy: Since you’re the only one here who is married, did it even you out?
Brian: Well, I still embarrass my wife in the grocery store.
Dr. Tracy: How do you do that? Maybe I don’t want to know…
Brain: Prancing around… Talking to fruit…. That kind of thing.
There are some classes that I really wish could have gone on forever.
Some photos…
My nephew holding Christopher’s hand.
Abed-nego unwrapping his Christmas present.
Our Christmas presents to one another…
Chris got me the best edition of Paradise Lost that I’ve ever seen.
I got him Lord of the Rings, 50th Anniversary Edition.
I have changed my mind about Foer’s novel. I am enjoying it very much now. So much, in fact, that I will share an excerpt with you:
I would answer, “Not no,” but then I lost”no,” I went to a tattoo parlor and had YES written onto the palm of my left hand, and NO onto my right palm, what can I say, it hasn’t made life wonderful, it’s made life possible, when I rub my hands against each other in the middle of winter I am warming myself with the friction of YES and No, when I clap my hands I am showing my appreciation through the uniting and parting of YES and No, I signify “book” by peeling open my clapped hands, every book, for me, is the balance of YES and NO, even this one, my last one, especially this one. (Foer 17)
Of course, I haven’t gotten too far into the novel since I have been finishing everything up for the semester. I can’t wait to plunge into it more, although I do need to get going with reading for the intensive.
This evening we went to Barnes and Noble so I could get a new journal. I always feel that keeping journals is a good idea in order to maintain a connection between the mind and the pen at all times. An elementary school was having their book fair in the back of the store and when I went to the register, the guy asked me if I was with the book fair. Did he really think I was in elementary school? Was he cracking a joke? I don’t know…. Anyway, we went to Starbucks and split a pumpkin spice latte. I feel like we spend too much money at Starbucks, then I remember that we are just using gift certificates and we’ll probably get more at Christmas (I hope!). We sat for a long time talking, journaling, and reading. I read Foer while Chris continued this Faulkner kick with Go Down, Moses. It’s nice to get out sometimes and do exactly what you do at home, but just have a different background.
And I like this just because.
Well, I guess every aspect of life has just been so crazy that I have been left with nothing interesting to say on here. I hate just talking about school and writing papers and grading papers, so I usually just end up refraining from updating.
Last Wednesday I started reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safron Foer. You may know him as the author of Everything Is Illuminated. I was excited to read something outside of my school assignments. I enjoy my readings for class, but after reading so much Faulkner and Christian poetics, I wanted a break. I yearned for a new voice. Well, I only got through the first chapter because I found myself a little disappointed… I was enjoying the book. The narration depicted a curious, rambling young male with a vocabulary and understanding beyond himself (unreliable narrator projecting current adult perceptions on a pre-mature past self?) who was raised by an intellectual father stuck in the retail jewelry business. Despite the fact that the jewelry business was family-owned, thus the father was in fact successful as an owner or sort, he was unsatisfied with this and instead spent his time trying to correct others by circling errors in print. Well, I was okay with all of this–even though I couldn’t decide if the child’s unearned understanding was a mistake or a literary device–until September 11th suddenly began to play a major role in the book. That is when I closed the book. I know I should give it another chance (and I probably will), but I get so sick of hearing about September 11th. What was I thinking when I opened this current novel? Of course it would be influenced by our culture, and September 11th is a large part of that. I feel weary when I read anything about September 11th; I feel that it is a tired, misused card.
In other news, it’s the holidays despite the warmth. I took these photos a while ago, but take a look if you’d like.
More?
Matthew Nehemiah Caron was born December 7, 2007 at 9:12 pm.
More photos can be found here.
Published at December 2, 2007
in Politics.
Still leading the polls in Iowa….
Keep it up, Mr. Obama, so I can vote for you.